Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

Are you looking for that perfect, last minute Halloween treat to make? I came across these adorable sugar cookies on a fun blog that I follow. Tina over at Mommy’s Kitchen had them as a feature on her site this month.

You can make these cookies using your favorite sugar cookie recipe, or you can just purchase the refrigerated dough from your supermarket. Here is the recipe that I used (and I doubled it):

Ingredients:

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ sup butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

½ cup sour cream

Preparation:

Into a bowl, sift together the sifted flour, baking soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Beat for 2 minutes. Add sour cream and half of the sifted dry ingredients; beat 1 minute. Stir in remaining dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Divide dough in thirds. Add orange food coloring to one of the portions, and yellow to another.

Line an 8-inch square pan with waxed paper and press yellow dough in the bottom.

Next, press the orange dough on top of the yellow dough.

Then press the plain white dough on top. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pull the dough out of the baking dish, and cut into ¼ inch thick slices.

Cut the slices into triangles, and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. My cookies came out perfect at 8 minutes.
Happy Halloween!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Here's A Little About Me!


I am crazy about a lot of things. I am especially crazy about my adorable kids and my wonderful husband. Their love, kindness, and smiles are enough to make anyone happy. I am crazy about baking, and filling my home with a yummy aroma that is inviting to anyone. I am crazy about serving others. The joy that I get from doing acts of kindness for others is unbelievable. Most of all, I am crazy about life!


Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Easiest Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

These pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are quick, easy, and delicious. Since pumpkins seem to be in abundance this time of year, you can either use fresh pumpkin or canned pumpkin. I chose to use canned pumpkin.

3 Simple Ingredients:

1 box Spice Cake Mix
1 Small Can (15 oz.) Pumpkin
1 12 oz. bag of Chocolate Chips



Start by mixing the pumpkin and the cake mix together. You don't need the oil or eggs. Just the dry mix.

Mix it together well, and add the chocolate chips.

Mix well, and scoop onto a greased cookie sheet. I always use a non stick cooking spray.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Your home will smell inviting, and you will have a delicious treat! I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as my kids do.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Megan's Diamond Shaped Wedding Cake

Tonight was Megan's wedding reception, and I was able to make her cake for her. This three-tiered cake was amazing! The top layer was a white cake with a raspberry filling. The middle layer was a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filling, and the bottom layer was a carrot cake with a buttercream filling. I did chocolate fondant for the first time ever. And I was extremely surprised at how easy it was to make and work with. I will share the recipe at the bottom of this post. Be sure to click on the top picture to get a better view of the details.
The reception was beautiful! I was really glad to be a part of it.

For the Chocolate Fondant, I mostly followed the Wilton recipe. I changed it by using real chocolate instead of the chocolate candy melts. The texture was perfect.

Wilton Chocolate Fondant

Ingredients:

14 ounces dark cocoa candy melts
1/2 cup light corn syrup
24 ounce package Wilton Fondant
Brown Icing Color (optional)
Black Icing Color (optional)

Makes: About 2 pounds chocolate fondant (this cake took about 10 pounds).

Instructions:
Melt Candy Melts following package directions. Add corn syrup; stir to blend. Turn out mixture onto waxed paper; let stand at room temperature to dry and harden several hours. Wrap well and store at room temperature until ready to continue with recipe.

Knead small portions of candy mixture until soft and pliable. Knead softened mixture into fondant until smooth and evenly colored. If darker color is desired, knead in icing color.